An intervention by the Consumer Protection Commission and the Tourism Bureau could soon see the ban on outside food and pricey souvenirs at the nation’s theme parks become history.
As the summer vacation is a peak period for tourism and travel, the commission and its local offices, the Tourism Bureau and health authorities listed 13 major theme parks for inspection.
Commission official Chang Chia-lin (張嘉麟) said that although the law does not forbid theme-park managers from putting up “No outside food” signs, parks should strive to provide visitors with greater convenience.
If tourists see “No outside food allowed” signs in theme parks, they can call and lodge a complaint with the Tourism Bureau or the commission, Chang said.
Inspections showed that three parks, Leofoo Village Theme Park, Yamay Resort and Janfusun Fancy World, have a ban on “outside food,” Chang said.
Leofoo Village Theme Park forbids visitors from bringing any cooked food into the park, while Yamay Resort has notices that forbid outside food, but it does not actively enforce the regulation, Chang said, adding that Janfusun Fancy World regulations forbade visitors from bringing lunchboxes or any food that needed to be heated or refrigerated.
Although all three parks do have established eating or beverage areas, where visitors can bring outside food, the Tourism Bureau still asked the parks to review their “no outside food allowed” policy.
Investigations also showed that food and beverages sold at the Window on China Theme Park, Little Ding-Dong Science Park, Leofoo Park, Yamay Resort, Janfusan Fancy World and Farglory Ocean Park were much higher than convenience store prices, Chang said.
Some vendors sell beverages that normally cost NT$25 for NT$40, Chang said, adding that that amounted to a 60 percent markup in price.
Vendors have agreed to lower prices after negotiations with the Tourism Bureau, Chang said.
In terms of sanitation, the commission said that numerous problems were identified with multiple vendors, including a lack of thermometers in freezers, the unsanitary thawing of foodstuffs on the ground, inadequate temperature controls in refrigerators, dirty cooking surfaces and failure to separate raw and cooked foods.
Improvements were made in those areas found lacking after the Food and Drug Administration instructed local Bureau of Health office to recheck the vendors, the commission said.
Translated by Jake Chung, Staff Writer
AGING: While Japan has 22 submarines, Taiwan only operates four, two of which were commissioned by the US in 1945 and 1946, and transferred to Taiwan in 1973 Taiwan would need at least 12 submarines to reach modern fleet capabilities, CSBC Corp, Taiwan chairman Chen Cheng-hung (陳政宏) said in an interview broadcast on Friday, citing a US assessment. CSBC is testing the nation’s first indigenous defense submarine, the Hai Kun (海鯤, Narwhal), which is scheduled to be delivered to the navy next month or in July. The Hai Kun has completed torpedo-firing tests and is scheduled to undergo overnight sea trials, Chen said on an SET TV military affairs program. Taiwan would require at least 12 submarines to establish a modern submarine force after assessing the nation’s operational environment and defense
Yangmingshan National Park authorities yesterday urged visitors to respect public spaces and obey the law after a couple was caught on a camera livestream having sex at the park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) earlier in the day. The Shilin Police Precinct in Taipei said it has identified a suspect and his vehicle registration number, and would summon him for questioning. The case would be handled in accordance with public indecency charges, it added. The couple entered the park at about 11pm on Thursday and began fooling around by 1am yesterday, the police said, adding that the two were unaware of the park’s all-day live
The coast guard today said that it had disrupted "illegal" operations by a Chinese research ship in waters close to the nation and driven it away, part of what Taipei sees a provocative pattern of China's stepped up maritime activities. The coast guard said that it on Thursday last week detected the Chinese ship Tongji (同濟號), which was commissioned only last year, 29 nautical miles (54km) southeast of the southern tip of Taiwan, although just outside restricted waters. The ship was observed lowering ropes into the water, suspected to be the deployment of scientific instruments for "illegal" survey operations, and the coast
A former soldier and an active-duty army officer were yesterday indicted for allegedly selling classified military training materials to a Chinese intelligence operative for a total of NT$79,440. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office indicted Chen Tai-yin (陳泰尹) and Lee Chun-ta (李俊達) for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法) and the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例). Chen left the military in September 2013 after serving alongside then-staff sergeant Lee, now an army lieutenant, at the 21st Artillery Command of the army’s Sixth Corps from 2011 to 2013, according to the indictment. Chen met a Chinese intelligence operative identified as “Wang” (王) through a friend in November
RSS